Eruption of Harmen
"The Eruption of Harmen is like your 9/11. You don't know what that is but trust me, it was pretty bad." -Jack Nelson The Eruption of Harmen was a disastrous event in southeastern Large Mouth. Mount Harmen was a volcano which erupted in 1523 HE. This not only destroyed the entire region of Harmen but also adjacent regions in Ziung Kina and Tancas Major. The origin of this explosion is a highly debated topic in politics and science. Memorial The Eruption killed an estimated fifteen thousand citizens of Ziung Kina, Tancas, Harmen, and Attarûn. In these places and places outside of these the deaths are memorialized and the lost lives are honored. In what is now Nelsonia, a fifteen thousand minute tenday of silence is held. Participation is not forced but is popular. Ziung Kina has a similar memorial in which as many members as possible hold hands at the border created by the ash of the explosion. Because the Eruption caused Ziung Kina to completely shut out the world this is thought to signify that even Ziungyu cannot enter the lands which have been tainted. It is unknown whether the elves of Fete Neldë observe any sort of memorial for those who died in Harmen. Fallout Physical A large portion of Ziung Kina was destroyed in the explosion, and rendered the entire coverage of ash useless. Nine thousand Ziungyu lives were lost to the ashen rain and lava flow. It completely destroyed their once wet lands in the west. All of Ziung Kina is wetlands, however the area which was ruined has been called by a Ziung Kina leader as "the wettest of the wet". The entire eastern region of Tancas Major was wiped out by this eruption. About six thousand human lives were lost from this, as were the previously biggest cities in Large Mouth. There were no known survivors within five miles of Harmen on either side. Political Because holders of political power in Ziung Kina suspected foul play as the cause of the eruption, the rest of the world was shut out from entering. Any race of people who were not Ziungyu were either killed or sent to live on Ragu Ziun in camps organized by race. Nearly a year after the eruption, Jack Nelson rose to a high point in the Tancaetic Army and through his fame gained political power in what was left of a Tancas with a lost capital. Some claim Nelson took too far advantage of the vulnerability of the people after this disaster and used anger and sadness from this event to gain a following. Others claim him to be a savior of Tancas. Either way, he renamed the province "Nelsonia" and changed much of the legislation upon becoming leader. He has been what some call a "dictator" since 1524 HE. Theories Besides the fact that the eruption of Mount Harmen could've been a freak occurrence of nature, many theories about its eruption have come into popular thinking. The ones listed below are among the most popular. Surtr Theological theories have gained lots of popularity here. Surtr, the giant of fire, is suspected to be behind the eruption. He is often blamed, but blaming him is often seen as a shrugging off of the event, when really there could be deeper things than just an act of a giant. Hephaestus Hephaestus, who rules in the realm of the planet Groco, is also suspected to be a divine cause of the Eruption. On his planet he is the god of blacksmithing, fire, and is generally blamed there for the eruption of volcanoes. It is thought that he traveled beyond what he is allowed, and meddled in Tol when he was not supposed to. The most telling evidence of this is that in 1523 HE, Tyr nor Odin were present at their annual visiting of Tovinyr, and were thought to have been discussing punishments for Hephaestus. Dorbalar The eternal king elf of the Fete Neldën elves, Dorbalar, is also suspected. He has expressed distaste in Ziung Kina in journal entries as well as in accounts from defected Fete Neldëns. Jacob Yulde While this is the more ridiculous of the suspects, political cartoonist Jacob Yulde is thought to be the cause of the Eruption of Harmen by the more conservative of the citizens in Fordsu. This is based on a political cartoon written a month before the Eruption which seems to allude to an event which hadn't yet occured. This is typically seen as a far fetched conspiracy theory, but because many believe it it has made this list. Jack Nelson Due to Scholar Nelly's swift rise to power through the use of pathos, some believe he, with his theorized "dark warlock powers" put the mountains into flames and destroyed parts of Tancas in order to gain power.